Essence
'ESSENCE' Just as werewolves are possessed of potent fury, they have a reservoir of energy that connects them to the spiritual rather than the physical. Essence is a trait that measures how a werewolf draws upon the spirit world to perform miraculous Gifts and rites and to blend spirit stuff with his body to become the ultimate in Uratha existence. Essence is measured strictly in points and is spent to perform feats, primarily to activate Gifts. Essence and Willpower can be spent in the same turn. As always, no more than one Willpower can be spent per turn, while a number of Essence can be spent per turn based on a character’s Primal Urge. A werewolf can spend a point of Essence to: *'Activate a Gift. '''The various Gifts available to the Uratha are described starting on p. 102. *'Activate a fetish automatically as if the required Harmony roll was a success.' ''(See “Fetishes,” p. 204.) *'Enter the spirit world without the need for a roll while in the presence of a locus.' *'Change form automatically as a reflexive action,' forgoing the normal Stamina + Survival + Primal Urge roll. See the rules for changing forms in Chapter Three, p. 170. *'Regenerate a lethal wound.' Doing so is reflexive, replacing the automatic regeneration of a bashing wound that a werewolf would normally do in a turn. (Your character can’t automatically regenerate a bashing wound for free and a lethal wound with an Essence expenditure in the same turn. The latter takes precedence.) See p. 168 for the full rules on regenerating. Spent Essence points can be recovered by a variety of means. Primal Urge determines the maximum number of points a character can have. (See above chart.) *• At the Storyteller’s option, a werewolf may regain up to three spent Essence points between stories to represent time spent replenishing his reserves during downtime. The Storyteller decides exactly how many points are regained, based on the character’s recent activities and victories. If he’s suffered setbacks or has barely held his own against enemies or in regard to spirits or other Uratha, he regains one point. If he’s won some small victories in personal endeavors or against rivals, he regains two points. If he’s won resounding victories or performed acts that have placated or impressed spirits or other werewolves, he regains three Essence. *When a werewolf sees her auspice moon for the first time in a night, she regains one Essence. *A character may draw Essence from a locus, a place where the interplay between the physical and spirit is particularly powerful. See the rules for loci on p. 260. *Certain rites performed by a solitary werewolf or members of a pack can restore exhausted Essence points. Among them is a ritual hunt made meaningful by a rite that venerates Luna, Father Wolf, spirits or existence as Uratha itself, and rejuvenates participants’ bond to the spirit world. *• A werewolf who eats wolf or human flesh (including that of wolf-blooded humans, a vampire’s ghouls or a mage’s acolytes) regains one point of Essence for every point of damage inflicted with the intention of devouring the victim’s meat. This is a grave sin that can lead to a loss of Harmony (p. 181). <<<< BACK